Exemplary embodiments pertain to the art of rotary wing aircraft and, more particularly, to a cooling system for rotor blade actuators for a rotary wing aircraft.
Rotary wing aircraft include rotor blades that are selectively rotated about a rotor blade axis to adjust flight characteristics. Typically, each rotor blade of a rotor system is connected to a rotor blade actuator which, in turn, may be coupled to a vehicle management system and/or control inceptors. In some cases, rotor blade actuators may be exposed to an airstream passing over or around a rotor hub. In other cases, the rotor blade actuators may be surrounded in a fairing. The fairing reduces drag on the rotor blades. The fairing also reduces airflow across the actuators which, in turn, can have a detrimental effect on cooling.